Steven Jackson Wants St. Louis Rams To Draft Wide Receiver and Give Him a New Contract

By Anthony Blake

With a lot of the talk surrounding Thursday’s NFL Draft centered on the St. Louis Rams and their sixth overall pick, the team’s running back Steven Jackson has given his two cents on the selection. While one possibility for the club remains drafting his eventual replacement, Trent Richardson, with that choice, Jackson would prefer it if the team used the pick to land a deep threat weapon for quarterback Sam Bradford.

Among other things, this “suggestion” may take on a life of its own given the fact that the running back also mentioned that he was unhappy with his current contract in the same breath. When doing an interview with KFXX AM in Portland, Jackson said: “Me personally, I think that’s the way we should go in the first round; adding some more tools and talent around (quarterback) Sam (Bradford) so he can definitely show his ability to be an elite quarterback. The Rams are going to do what’s best for the Rams. I understand that. It’s a business.”

Jackson signed a six-year, $44.8 million deal in 2008 and is scheduled to make $7 million in base salary for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. For a player of his consistency, one can understand his frustration given the paychecks that are handed out across the league with a few more digits than that.

That situation for the Rams is somewhat similar to the situation when Jackson was drafted and the team still had now Hall of Fame back Marshall Faulk. The team is in much worse shape in terms of wins and losses, but the running back position is in a similar state of turnover.

Drafting Trent Richardson remains a real possibility should both the Cleveland Browns with the fourth overall pick and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at five pass on him. Many have linked the Rams to Jackson’s clear preference of a deep receiving threat in either Justin Blackmon or Michael Floyd, but the team remains noncommittal over the whole situation.